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To find this Link internship, I considered some different businesses and career fields. However, what interested me most was the thought of interning at the Durango Fish Hatchery. Fortunately for me, my Dad works as an aquatic biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and has connections with the fish hatchery; so I had an advantage in getting the position. In terms of the process of getting my internship, I did not necessarily encounter any substantial challenges. While finding this link, I contacted one person and he immediately agreed to be my mentor. The reason I chose this opportunity was due to my interest in aquatic biology. Since a very young age, I have always had a passion for fishing and various aquatic species; therefore, this job was a perfect fit for my interests. I hope to gain a vast array of knowledge on the function of aquatic life and the duties of a hatchery worker that I can then bring with me into a potential career in the future. I hope to bring a positive attitude and willingness to learn to my internship. I have an interesting idea for a project that I hope can benefit Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I want to leave the impression that I am a trustworthy and diligent worker that would be fit to continue a similar career in the future.

3 Weeks At the Durango Fish Hatchery ​

I along with Animas High Schools junior population all did a 3 week Link Internship with the goal to experience the adult lifestyle by working a job of our choosing for three weeks. Each junior researched jobs they were interested in and took it into there hands to communicate with the person in charge of the job to possibly get invited to work with them for three weeks. For my internship, I worked at the Durango Fish Hatchery for 3 weeks. The fish hatchery is what you could call a nursery where fish are raised and then stalked in various water body's for recreational purposes. In order to keep track of water quality, the pH of the location we put the fish must be tested The fish are raised in long rectangular ponds that are open for public viewing. For more information you can find there website at http://www.cpw.state.co.us/

Fortunately for me, finding my link was not a substantial challenge. I had looked into a few different businesses, but was almost certain about interning at the hatchery. I do know my mentor because his job depends on my dads job, which is to decide where and where not to stalk fish. Thus, he was very quick to accept me as an intern. Although I looked into multiple jobs, I ended up contacting one person who accepted my request.

I was very quick to choose this opportunity because it was a topic that I have always found very interesting. For example, I have always loved fishing and had a passion for aquatic life. Therefore, I undoubtedly leaped at the opportunity of interning at the hatchery. I found working at the hatchery a very engaging and interesting experience. I felt that I gained essential knowledge while working there that could lead me into a future career such as aquatic biology. I hope that I will be able to bring a vast knowledge on the study of fish that can help me into a business in aquatic biology. I am confident that I left a positive impression on my mentor and his employees which I am confident will stick with them.

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Link Project

For my link project, I looked into the survival rates of different species of cutthroat trout from egg to adult in various locations around Colorado. By looking at the chart below, one row will include the year the cutthroat trout were spawned, the species, spawn date, date picked, amount of time for the eggs to develop visual eyes, the number of eggs with visual eyes, percent pick off (eggs that died), and egg treatment, (chilled or unchilled).​

Link Reflection and Takeaways

The day that I started link, I definitely brought useful skills and knowledge that I had inherited through many years of fishing volunteer work, and family connections. I had previously volunteered with my father who is a fish biologist himself many times. These skills and knowledge were very useful to have when I came into the fish culturalist lifestyle. However, even with many years of experience beforehand, my skills were a mere fraction of what I learned through my internship. For a few examples, I learned how to identify the genders of crayfish and at least 12 species of fish. I learned the basic skills of maintaining and caring for the fish at the hatchery. In all honesty I would not say I encountered any major challenges other than a few minor mistakes I made. For my time at the hatchery, I noticed that my help was highly beneficial for all the tasks that had to be done. I strongly recommend my mentor to accept an intern in the future. I think they will like the job as much as I did as well as gain vast knowledge on fish health, general maintenance, etc. After spending three weeks at the hatchery, I decide it would be something I would strongly look into for my future career. Having gained all the knowledge that I did over the past three weeks, I am confident it will be very beneficial when applying for colleges and looking into future job opportunities relating to aquatic biology.